Why Hauser Wirth & Schimmel’s New Gallery Is More Than Just a Place to See Art

The Arts District of downtown Los Angeles is growing busier and buzzier by the day with a steady stream of lifestyle boutiques, farm-to-fork restaurants, and Soho House and Smorgasburg outposts on the way.

But no single space seems poised to transform the neighborhood, and the cultural impact of the city, quite like Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, the massive new iteration of the international blue-chip gallery Hauser & Wirth, which opened to the public Sunday.

Housed in a block-wide series of late 19th– and early 20th–century buildings that once functioned as a flour mill, the complex, which was created in consultation with New York architect Annabelle Selldorf, feels more like a museum or community hangout than a traditional white box. The structure spans more than 100,000 square feet and includes a Neo-Classical bank building and several warehouses, all of which currently house “Revolution in the Making,” a landmark survey of abstract sculpture by 34 female artists including Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois.

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Photo: Courtesy of Lish Sapphire / @english_sapphire

There’s plenty to take in outside the structure, too. A vast interior courtyard and walkway are open to passersby who might be shopping at design boutique Poketo across the street. The on-site Artbook shop, which is bigger than some New York galleries, is alone worth a trip. A produce-centric restaurant, Manuela (named for cofounder Manuela Wirth), opening this summer, will draw ingredients from an on-site vegetable farm; a public garden will follow soon after.

As partner Paul Schimmel put it during a tour last week, the space is dedicated to “building a community,” and reflects “the generosity with which the city reinvents itself.” Consider it a permanent addition to any L.A. to-do list.